# Home networking difficulties **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662 "2004-06-22T16:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/1 "2004-06-22T16:54:00Z")
I’m trying to share a folder and a printer between two computers that are connected to a router. If I set up a folder on the desktop computer to be shared, I can see it on the laptop in “my network places.” However, when I try to open it, it says that it could not be accessed, with little explanation as to why. If I share a folder on the laptop, I cannot even see it on the desktop computer. I am also having trouble sharing a printer. I have it set to share, but when I try to find it from the other computer, I cannot. Thanks in advance for any help. ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/2 "2004-06-22T17:03:02Z")
The specific message I get when I try to access a shared folder from the desktop computer is this: [filename] is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was not found. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/3 "2004-06-22T21:15:54Z")
In the network properties dialog, do you have the NetBEUI (Win9x) or NetBIOS (WinXP) protocols installed? ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/4 "2004-06-22T21:24:57Z")
Did you try contacting the network administrator? Haha, just kidding. Is the printer also connected to the router, or is it a USB printer hooked up to one of the computers? Also, what OS are you using? ---
**Author:** ![BaldTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BaldTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldTaco)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/5 "2004-06-22T23:56:52Z")
Make sure your firewall is disabled, including the one built into WinXP. ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/6 "2004-06-23T02:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Make sure your firewall is disabled, including the one built into WinXP. How do I disable the one in Win XP? Does it have to always be disabled, or can I change the settings so that the firewall won’t interfere? (I’m using ZoneAlarm) > [@](#): > > Is the printer also connected to the router, or is it a USB printer hooked up to one of the computers? It’s a USB printer connected to the desktop computer. I’m using XP home, by the way. > [@](#): > > In the network properties dialog, do you have the NetBEUI (Win9x) or NetBIOS (WinXP) protocols installed? I assume it’s NetBIOS, but how could I check? (Assuming it could be something else) ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/7 "2004-06-23T04:08:34Z")
Here’s how to disable/enable that WinXP firewall, (from MS Help): > [@](#): > > To enable or disable Internet Connection Firewall > [ol][li]Open Network Connections [/li][li]Click the Dial-up, LAN or High-Speed Internet connection that you want to protect, and then, under **Network Tasks** , click **Change settings of this connection**. [/li][li]On the **Advanced** tab, under **Internet Connection Firewall** , select one of the following: [/li][ul][li]To enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), select the **Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box**.[/li][li]To disable Internet Connection Firewall, clear the **Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box**.[/ul][/ol] [/li] I would recommend disabling ZoneAlarm on both machines until you get your network working properly. Then you can go ahead and turn on ZoneAlarm, one at a time, tweaking as necessary to get it working again. Once the unprotected networking works fine, go into ZoneAlarm and make sure that you have an entry under the “Zones” subtab on the “Firewall” main tab. You should have an entry for your adapter subnet that is “trusted”. Now make sure that your “Trusted Zone Security” on the “Main” subtab is set to something like “Med.” to allow printer chat among your machines. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/8 "2004-06-23T04:11:22Z")
Oh yes, one more detail… WinXP has a pretty useful home networking wizard. Check it out under “Help and Support” on the Start menu. It asks a few pointed questions and then sets things up for you. It will even create a floppy disk that you can use to properly configure Win9x machines to play nicely. This is how I got my network originally set up. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/9 "2004-06-23T05:27:46Z")
Also, make sure that you have the same usernames and passwords on both machines. For example, if you login to your computer as USER1 and the password is PASSWORD, create a new account on the _other_ PC with the same username and password. Then, vice versa for the other PC’s login on your PC. ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/10 "2004-06-23T17:36:01Z")
Okay…I disabled ZoneAlarm and it worked. I should have been able to figure that out on my own. Now, how can I make it work with ZA running? I tried adding the IP of each computer to the “trusted” category, but it still does not work. ---
**Author:** ![P\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a587f6/32.png) [@P\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P_T)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-networking-difficulties/251662/11 "2004-06-23T17:49:46Z")
Have you previously denied access through ZA? Usually a deny takes precedence over an allow.